Finding an agent (recommendation, brokers, Realtors, state)

[msjack]

Hi all, I'm hoping you all have some help or advice. My husband and I are moving to a new town in a different state. The problem is picking a real estate agent, when we know no one in the area who can give recommendations? My agent where we live now did a little digging, and found someone that was recommended to her. Long story short that didn't work out, being she was one of the most unprofessional agents I have ever come in contact with. We will only be going down there once or twice in the next few months, and hopefully to look at houses. Should I just randomly pick one and hope for the best? Thanks for any help.

[keeshonder]

If your current local agent can't provide a few names of agents in the new area, whether with the same parent company or another, go to a site called Active Rain and search for agents in that area. They will have profiles as well as blog posts that will give you a chance to get somewhat familiar. Or, you can go to a site called localism.com and look at information written by agents about the area you will be moving to. And there is always the city-data info about the community you will be going to that might have some agents listed.

Do phone interviews with those agents, ask for references or testimonials as a buyers agent.

[2bindenver]

have you tries looking for c-d posters that service the area you are moving too?

[FalconheadWest]

I also recommend Active Rain to find an agent in your area. Not just because I'm at the top of the page for Texas which makes a lot of people contact me, but because people on there are mostly "real" and you can really get to know them just by reading about what they have to say. If their posts are bland, they probably are too. If their posts are useful and entertaining, they probably are too. Find an agent with your personality and then contact them.

[lifelongMOgal]

You are probably better off posting in the city/state forum of N. Carolina. If you or your husband is being transferred via work there may be assistance through a relocation company.

The city/area to which you are moving most likely has its own Real Estate Board. You can research this through the North Carolina Realtors Association.
link: http://www.ncrealtors.org/localboards.cfm

Suggest picking the top 3 Brokers in the area to which you are moving and setting up interviews. You may need to visit more than you had planned; or you may be able to do some of your interviewing online via face to face conference call.

Subscribe now to the local newspaper & society magazine in the area to which you are moving. Look at the realtor advertisings and you will get a good idea of the Broker offices who are the agent power players in that area.

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by 2bindenver

have you tries looking for c-d posters that service the area you are moving too?

This is good advice, as City-Data is fundamentally a relocation forum. You can ask about the area and get tons of input from local residents. And for every active agent on CD, there are probably 5 or 10 lurking, and you will have contacts.
You will also get DM's from folks who have used an agent, with recommendations.
Or warnings.

ActiveRain is good, too, to get a grasp on how an agent views the business. Unless you are moving to a very small town, there will be multiple AR members in the area.

If you go to Trulia Questions, expect to have agents on you like flies on manure, like buzzards on road kill....

[msjack]

Thanks everyone. I did ask first in the NC forum and got one response, so I thought I would try here. I will try those sites listed and see what I come up with. Thanks again for the help!